Archive for July, 2012

Sid Lee Architecture and Ædifica turned the parking area at Place des Arts into a Salon Urbain, a versatile new space ideal
for meeting up before or after a musical performance, a gallery visit or a conference. The Salon Urbain fully captures the
artistic appeal of the site, located at the St. Urbain entrance of the Place des Arts and next to the new concert hall.
“The Salon Urbain boasts a conveniently central location, but it really comes to life during events,” explains Martin Leblanc,
architect and partner at Sid Lee Architecture. “The space is a destination in itself and a welcoming prelude to the musical
and social experience it precedes.”

On second of June, in the outskirts of Rhoon, the Netherlands, the Buijtenkeuken was launched, five projects (Buijtenpaths, Buijtenbrewery, Buijtenbed, Buijtennursery and Buijtenkitchen) which investigate the coming years the relationship between landscape and recreation.

The first phase of Singapore’s dramatic Gardens by the Bay project opens to the public on 29th June following completion of the 54-hectare £500m Bay South Garden by a world-class British design team led by Bath-based landscape architects, Grant Associates.

Gardens by the Bay is one of the largest garden projects of its kind in the world. Ultimately, the site will total 101 hectares comprising three distinct gardens – Bay South, Bay East and Bay Central. Located on reclaimed land in Singapore’s new downtown at Marina Bay, the site will provide a unique leisure destination for local and international visitors.

The solution proposed for the Art Centre is basically articulated around a dialogue between the old convent and the new building. A building-corridor winds next to the old building and goes over it to end up inside the cloister. It is conceived to be an icon, with an image that is formal and categorical yet simple and recognizable, which contrasts the former convent. Each building has an independent interpretation and they confront each other without establishing formal competition.

Located in the heart of Berlin, this newly completed izakaya restaurant combines traditional Japanese materials and hand craft with 3D modeling and computer programming to form an atmospheric space for dining. Responding to the client’s wishes for a cozy space that establishes a visual identity for the restaurant while also maximizing table count, the entire design intervention is achieved without the use of a single wall. A 56 sq meter ceiling installation serves as the main design feature of the restaurant.
By using the chopstick as a simple, repeating element, the project creates an immersive and highly intimate canopy over the space.

This three-apartment penthouse building on the corner of Calle Cicerón, located in Mexico City’s high-end residential hub of Polanco, resorts to a single structural strategy for all its achievements. Instead of investing in façade design, it bets on a structure of clear-cut spatial intention that maximizes window view while preserving privacy.

The intervention takes place in a park area in which the expectations of the original project didn’t reach the estimated reactions, leaving a marginal area with no treatment other than the concrete block paving, out of scale and without an intended use. The situation is bound to lack of maintenance of urban furniture and equipment. It is detected lack of recreational areas, as the wooded areas are fenced with hedges that prevent people from resting in the shade.

Saijo Clinic is a private mental health clinic with short-care/group-care programs on the 11th floor penthouse of a building facing Shinjuku Gyoen Park, 58ha urban park located in central Tokyo. The penthouse was originally built as a part of a gigantic signboard on rooftop. The sign graphic was later abolished by newly introduced landscape regulations, however, the space inside was left over. In designing the interior of the clinic, we sought to incorporate the extraordinary contrast between different urban scales.

With a contemporary and minimalist approach, this exposed concrete weekend house is to be located in a rural area in upstate Reguengos de Monsaraz, Alentejo, Portugal.

The site is a clearing with dense wooded surroundings. The house has large glazed surfaces, increasing the interior exterior relation. Wooden sliding louvres, recessed in the walls, provide shade from the sun and protection from intruders. Roof slabs extend to the exterior, shading the glazed panels.

The villa set on a high sloping land overlooking Kamalaya resort to the sea with The Panoramic view and can see many of the surrounding islands.

The Thai contemporary design contains four bedrooms, a living room in the center of the design and a twelve-meter swimming pool. The design is structured with concrete and all the finishing is a natural material, with wooden floor in the bedrooms, polished cement in the main living, and a sand-wash flooring for the decking and walkway.